Panasonic DMC-FZ18

Reviewed October 2007

Test Photos

STILL LIFE PHOTO

This subject is photographed in a room that has a mix of fluorescent and incandescent light, but which is not brightly lit. The camera's flash is used to add fill light. The backdrop is 1.95 m (6.5 ft) from the camera.

The RAW + JPEG format was used to capture all the photos presented in this section. The RAW images were then opened using Silkypix, a RAW image processing program that is included with the DMC-FZ18's software, and saved using the non-lossy TIFF image format.

Without any processing, the wide angle shot has a slightly soft focus, but the focus is uniform from corner to corner across the frame. And using the Auto white balance, the colours appear quite accurate.

ZOOM PHOTO

Now we zoom in on a specific area. The intent is to test the sharpness of the image at the zoom's maximum setting. The camera normally remains at the same distance as with the preceding photo.

The powerful 18X zoom of the FZ18 allows capturing a small section of the subject. As can be seen, the camera is able to capture a excellent level of detail. The image shows clearly the paper's fibres, as well as those of the drop cloth in the background.

Colours are very realistic, and are consistent with those recorded in the wide angle image shown above.

The AF Macro mode of the DMC-FZ18 makes it possible to focus on a subject that is 1 cm (0.39 inch) from the front element of the lens at the wide angle end. At the minimum distance, the camera captures a field of view that is less than 4 cm (1.56 in.) but providing light to the subject is quite difficult as the lens causes a deep shadow. Moreover, at this minimum distance, barrel distortion is quite pronounced. The FZ18 allows using the zoom while in macro mode, and usually the images captured using a bit of zoom instead of being at the nearest distance are better.

BUILDING PHOTO

This image is our outdoor test. The architecture of the building, in particular the angled girders, immediately show the presence of jaggies. The shadowed entrance can also often reveal the quality of the exposure.

When the RAW version of the image shown here, captured with a harsh side light, is opened some noise can be discerned when the image is seen at 100%. Similarly, a chromatic aberration can be seen under the beams of the building's canopy.

Using either Silkypix, or Photoshop CS3, the noise can be eliminated, as well as the chromatic aberration, highlighting the value of a RAW mode for a camera such as this one.

ZOOM PHOTO

The powerful zoom of the FZ8 makes it possible to capture a small area of the entrance while remaining in the same spot as for the wide angle shot presented above.

The maximum telephoto setting of the zoom allows the camera to capture the handles of the entrance doors, and the little sign in great detail. There is no detectable pincushion distortion, nor is there any chromatic aberration. The exposure is also excellent, revealing a great deal of detail inside the building.

NIGHT PHOTO

This camera is capable of long exposures, and an image captured late at night is presented to give an idea of its capabilities.

A sixty second exposure with the Manual mode allows the camera to record a very high level of detail that is invisible to the human eye. Using the RAW mode, and the lowest sensitivity of 100 ISO, the FZ18 yields an excellent image.

Although the results are very good without any tweaking, the RAW format allows the photographer to extract all the detail the CCD has captured, make fine adjustments to sharpness, noise reduction and colour.

The DMC-FZ18 uses a dark frame noise reduction system which has the effect of doubling the time required to capture one long exposure. The system is effective, however, and very little noise remains in the image after it has been processed.